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Many travellers see very little of south central Laos , spending just a night or two in the town of Savannakhet before pressing on to the far south or crossing the border into Vietnam. The two principal settlements of south central Laos - Thakhek and Savannakhet - both lie on the Mekong River, and both offer straightforward border crossings into Thailand . Not all that interesting in itself, Thakhek is within day-tripping distance of some awesome limestone tunnels and caverns. Savannakhet has been described as southern Laos's equivalent of Louang Phabang, its inhabitants living comfortably among the architectural heirlooms handed down by the French, and is certainly a pleasant enough place. East from Savannakhet, Route 9 climbs steadily and eventually bisects another route of more recent vintage: the Ho Chi Minh Trail . Actually a series of parallel roads and paths, the trail was used by the North Vietnamese Army to infiltrate and finally subdue its southern neighbour. The area is still littered with lots of war junk, some of it highly dangerous. The safest way to view these rusting relics is to use the town of Xepon as a base. Journeying further east leads to the Vietnam border crossing at Daen Sawan, popularly known as "Lao Bao". There's a less frequently used crossing into Vietnam on Route 8, at Cau Treo.
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